Developments in Ukraine Washington is counting on money from its European allies to help Kiev

According to Webangah News quoted by Tasnim News agency, the Associated Press news agency reminded in a report last night, the states The United States, which is currently unable to send the weapons needed by Ukraine, plans to ask the representatives of about 50 countries in the contact group created by the West to coordinate the supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine in the form of Rammstein to finance Kiev. The United States, which is still waiting for Congress to pass a double budget for Ukraine, is counting on its allies to fill the budget gap. It was focused on meeting the long-term needs of Ukraine. According to him, in a situation where the United States cannot provide security assistance, Washington’s partners should continue to do so. Europeans continue to support Ukraine despite the lack of US funding for military aid to Kyiv. Pointing out that allies and partners continue to announce support for Ukraine at a steady pace, this Pentagon official noted that European countries have transferred military equipment to Ukraine worth $4.6 billion since October 1, 2023.

Today In the past, Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic majority in the US House of Representatives, said that the Democrats and Republicans in the US Senate have not yet been able to agree on the allocation of double aid to Ukraine and the tightening of controls on the southern border of the US.

Next, you can follow the developments related to the 700th day of the war in Ukraine:

***

The request of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine to the allies of Kiev to increase the amount of aid Military

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rostam Umarov emphasized last night that the country’s allies should increase their long-term military aid to Kiev.

Umarov at the online meeting of the contact group. Regarding military aid to Kiev in the form of Ramstein, noting that for Kiev, among other things, the volume of equipment and ammunition, as well as spare parts, is a critical issue, he added: “The Russian armed forces recently spent six times more artillery shells than the Ukrainian army.” Have used. Therefore, your continued support and the increase of military aid packages for our army is very important and necessary.” Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky also spoke on the sidelines of the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos about the lack of drones and systems. Missile launch in the Ukrainian army complained. He also admitted that the existing resources of the world military industrial complex are not enough for Ukraine.

Kiev hopes to receive weapons this year that have not yet been delivered

In 2024, Kyiv will receive “large aid packages from several countries” as well as weapons that “have not yet been sent to this country,” Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Hilarion Pavlyuk claimed early Wednesday.

After a meeting of the contact group to coordinate the supply of arms and military equipment to Kiev on Tuesday, Pavliuk stressed that the allies’ support for Ukraine will continue in 2024, noting that the talks were productive. He said: “This year, we will receive weapons from our Western partners that did not exist before, and they will help carry out attacks on Russian logistics centers.” It has received promises that “large aid packages from several countries” will be on the way, as well as increased production of ammunition and weapons for Ukraine. Ukraine in 2024

Celeste Wallander, adviser to the Minister of Defense on International Security Affairs at a press conference after the regular meeting of the contact group to coordinate the supply of arms and military equipment to Kiev last night, Tuesday. held online, announced that Western countries plan to transfer F-16 fighter-bombers and the associated equipment needed to maintain them to the Ukrainian armed forces by early 2024.

The Pentagon official said: We We aim to provide Ukraine with the necessary assistance to achieve initial operational readiness for its F-16 program by 2024. This includes pilot training, technician training, infrastructure preparation, supply of spare parts and ammunition – all components that the Western coalition is responsible for.

Wallander also noted that Ukrainian pilots are still undergoing flight training. They are with F-16.

Lavrov: Russia’s relations with North Korea do not violate international laws

Sergei Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs yesterday in an interview with American CBS (the text of which is published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia) emphasized that Moscow does not violate any norms of international law in its relations with North Korea. In exchange for receiving technology, Yang gives weapons to Russia to continue the war with Ukraine? He responded and said: “We have not violated any norms of international law in our relations with North Korea. <...> If you have a document, provide it. When there is no evidence of the accusation, we do not see the need to defend ourselves.” Zakharova: America solves its internal problems through external conflicts. Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, this morning in a conversation with a Russian reporter in New York, expressed her opinion that the United States has for many years implemented the strategy of solving its domestic political problems by starting foreign conflicts. Its purpose is to change the focus of attention of the people of the United States. Zakharova noted that due to the upcoming elections in the United States, one should not expect a change in the functioning patterns of the electoral system. And unfortunately, the use of international agents this year and in the 2024 elections is not an exception, and this issue will be very big, considering the conflict in Ukraine.

In the opinion of this Russian diplomat, the deterioration of the situation in Ukraine is a plan. It was designed by the United States, Great Britain and the West. He said: In the last century and after the Second World War, the Western countries started to prepare the conditions in Ukraine, and while the Soviet Union was fighting the gangs and criminals that remained in that territory, the West was only taking provocative actions in It was there, and it only intensified after the 1990s.

Use of alcoholics and physically challenged patients in the Ukrainian army

An army officer Last night, in a conversation with Newsweek Polska newspaper, Ukraine revealed that the situation of mobilization to fill the ranks of the armed forces is becoming a very serious form for Kiev, and they even employ alcoholics and patients with health problems and send them. They don’t miss the front.

This Ukrainian soldier said: “We see more and more people over the age of 45. Even before they reach the front line, they run out of breath. The average age of Ukrainian soldiers is now 43 years, which is 10 years more than the approximate age of our soldiers in March 2022.” The Ukrainian officer added: “There are other issues besides age. The mobilized forces don’t even know how to hold a gun and the sound of gunfire scares them. Alcoholics are also seen among the Basij forces. Among new recruits, three out of 10 fall asleep after getting drunk.

The officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces recalled a scene where military instructors were forced to use their hands from one of the Soldiers to support him so he could shoot, as he could not stand on his feet due to heavy alcoholism.

Swiss foreign minister refused to answer a question about lifting ban on talks by Kiev >

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis refused to answer the question of whether Kiev should lift the ban on negotiations with Moscow last Tuesday night in a gathering of reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York. .

He emphasized that now is not the time to discuss this issue, because what is happening now can be called “the starting point of preliminary negotiations” and it is not yet possible to determine whether there will be an opportunity To reach any agreement between Ukraine and Russia or not. It is obvious that there can be no peaceful solution without Russia, because this conflict is directly related to Russia.

The Swiss foreign minister noted that one of the goals of his talks today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York is to try It was to remove the blockage in the negotiations between the involved countries.

At the same time, he reminded that the conditions of Russia and Ukraine, which these countries put forward as their positions for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, are “completely opposite”. He also spoke about the readiness to negotiate on the organization of a peace conference, which may be held with the help of China and India.

Germany announced that it plans to provide six military helicopters to Ukraine

The German Ministry of Defense announced that it plans to transfer six Sea King military helicopters to Ukraine. As stated in the statement of the Ministry of Defense, this decision was announced by Boris Pistorius, the Minister of Defense of Germany, during the meeting of the contact group on military aid to Ukraine in the form of Ramstein.

According to this information, this helicopter was tested. And it is reliable and can help the Ukrainian military in many ways – from reconnaissance over the Black Sea to troop transport.

The ministry also stressed that strengthening air defense remains a priority. It is for Ukraine and it is necessary to increase the speed of weapons production.

The British recognition of the significant improvement in the combat capability of the Russian Armed Forces

A senior official of the British armed forces in Speaking to Breaking Defense magazine, he admitted that the Russian military has become significantly more experienced during the two years of military conflict in Ukraine. According to this unnamed military official, the defense lines of the Russian armed forces “It is well built, protected and camouflaged. He noted that the Russian military has widely” used drone strikes and their reconnaissance strikes have become very precise.

Kremlin territorial claims Ukraine calls Russia indefensible

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, in a TV interview last night, emphasized that the territorial claims of the Kyiv authorities to Russia are indefensible and will only make their situation worse. Kurds.

The press secretary of the Russian president said: the claims of the Kiev authorities are an attempt to disguise the accumulated problems inside Ukraine, while Volodymyr Zelensky has no desire to solve them at all, because the more problems there are, he He can ask for more help from the West. Peskov added: “Zelensky is only looking to return to a position where he will be provided with an unlimited flow of money and ammunition.”

The Kremlin official recalled: “Of course, the failure of all these efforts is visible to the naked eye, his [Zelensky] problems are growing, they will continue to grow, and the situation for Kiev is getting worse day by day.” It will be more difficult. Meanwhile, the special military operation will continue until the moment when all the assigned tasks are not completed.” He reminded: Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is in a very difficult situation: Western countries are They didn’t give him money, not enough weapons and ammunition are coming to him from abroad, and the situation inside Ukraine is also unstable and many people are unhappy. Dmitry Peskov also announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends He does not have to travel to North Korea before the end of March this year. Regarding the possibility of Putin’s visit to Pyongyang before the end of March, he said: “No, there are no plans in this regard yet. France and Germany blame each other for insufficient supply of weapons to Ukraine.” EU countries, including Germany and France, are increasingly blaming each other for not sending enough weapons to Ukraine, Bloomberg news agency reported yesterday, citing sources familiar with the situation. and these differences have weakened the unity of European countries.

According to this information, Germany has pressured the European Commission and the executive body of the European Union to provide a general list of planned financial and military aid to Ukraine from to be prepared by the member states of the Union. In Berlin, they believe that this measure will help countries to be accountable for the aid provided.

According to the official, the discussion of this measure will take place before the emergency summit on February 1, in which the leaders The Europeans will try to agree on a 50 billion euro ($54.5 billion) aid package that Hungary blocked in December.

Furthermore, the agency noted that concerns in Europe are The increase is that Kiev may suffer from a lack of funding since early March, while the Ukrainian army is back on the defensive after its counteroffensive failed.

According to the report, France accused the delay He refused to give aid to Ukraine. In a radio interview with France Inter, Defense Minister Sebastien LeCorneau announced Paris’s plan to supply 40 SCALP long-range cruise missiles, unlike Germany, which is unwilling to send its cruise missiles despite Ukraine’s request.

French defense said: “I don’t want to point the finger at some of our allies, but we can be proud of the fact that we have delivered reliable systems to Ukraine.” 1 billion euros have been allocated for bilateral support to Ukraine, and the Netherlands will provide more than 2 billion euros. While some member countries have not yet provided any aid packages. At the same time, the countries of the Eastern Bloc have already finished a significant part of their weapons reserves to support Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict.

Stoltenberg: NATO does not see a direct threat from Russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced yesterday at a press conference in Brussels that the North Atlantic Alliance currently does not see a threat from Russia in relation to any of its member countries.

According to the Secretary General, after the start of the military conflict in Ukraine, NATO has set two tasks for itself. Stoltenberg explained that the first was to support Ukraine and the second was to prevent the escalation of tension between the alliance and Russia, and only for this reason we need to increase our vigilance.

Stoltenberg emphasized that the alliance is strengthening its presence in NATO’s eastern flank in order to prevent possible attacks on allied countries. Ukraine invests

In this press conference in Brussels, Jens Stoltenberg announced that the coalition has invested 1.2 billion dollars to increase the production of artillery ammunition to support Ukraine. The Secretary General said: “We We recently signed contracts worth more than 1.2 billion dollars for the purchase of hundreds of thousands of 155 mm ammunition. According to him, the conflict in Ukraine has become a battle for ammunition and it is very important that the allies can source Reload their weapons while continuing to support Kiev.

Bloomberg: confiscation of Russian assets can worsen the situation in Ukraine

Bloomberg news agency reported last night that the confiscation of Russian assets can make the situation in Ukraine far worse.

In this report, it is mentioned that Western governments are openly considering the option of confiscating frozen Russian government assets and transferring its profits to Ukraine. This article states: “Nevertheless, confiscating sovereign assets now could ultimately worsen Ukraine’s predicament.” At the same time, experts explained that the process of confiscating assets would be very long and with There will be many disputes, arguments and claims. Starting this process may allow Western countries to say “they are trying”, but this action will not help to save Ukraine. Ukraine will allocate

According to the information of the office of the Minister of Defense, we are talking about the profits of the frozen assets of Russia in Belgium. At the same time, the international depository of Euroclear, based in Belgium, contains about 180 billion dollars of frozen Russian assets.

Earlier Bloomberg reported that EU countries are discussing the possibility of Imposing a tax on the profits of Russia’s frozen assets. At the same time, he noted that the United States has already announced its readiness to completely confiscate Russian assets.

End of message/